The sting of falling to Venezuela in the 2026 World Baseball Classic final will linger for Paul Skenes and Team USA. Despite being the favorites, the Americans couldn't clinch the gold, succumbing to Eugenio Suarez and his squad in a tight 3-2 contest.
Back with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Skenes, the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner, shared his reflections on the WBC experience. "Not good enough," he remarked, highlighting the disappointment but also the camaraderie formed with fellow Team USA players.
"Obviously, we wanted to win. But being around the guys was pretty dang cool.
Just being in that clubhouse, yeah, just got to finish the job."
The World Baseball Classic's high-stakes format was a new experience for Skenes, whose Pirates haven't seen postseason action since 2015. In his first two MLB seasons, Pittsburgh finished at the bottom of the NL Central.
Skenes delivered a strong performance in the semifinals against the Dominican Republic, pitching 4 1/3 innings, allowing one earned run on six hits, and striking out two in a 2-1 victory. However, he watched from the sidelines in the final as Nolan McLean took the mound, giving up two earned runs on four hits with four strikeouts.
Now, Skenes shifts his focus to the Pirates, set to start on Opening Day against the New York Mets at Citi Field on March 26.